Publisher's Message: The 99 Percent Factor

Sue Gillis, Publisher

The Middlebury College graduating class of '07 was barely seated when a downpour soaked them through their gowns and mortarboards, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm for keynote speaker President Bill Clinton.

More handsome in person than on television, Clinton was visible long before he reached the covered staging and his seat. Even in the giddy excitement of the impending graduation ceremonies, Clinton moved through the crowd of 8,000 ticket holders charming and touching along the way.

Clinton's speech was brilliant; at once personal, humble and inspiring. He acknowledged his Ambassador to Switzerland former Vermont Governor Madeleine Kunin, reflected on his friend and Middlebury alumnus the late Ron Brown; referenced his supportive role to Hillary, and challenged graduates to include all humanity in their journey to make a difference in the world.

Following are excerpts of his remarks;

"While our differences may make life more interesting, our common humanity matters more. So much of the world's difficulties today are rooted in the rejection of that simple premise. Following the terrorist bombings in London in 2005, what really shook the British was that the people responsible were British citizens. The bombers believed that our differences were more important that whatever we could have in common."

Clinton pointed out that the human genome project has shown that our genes are 99.9 percent the same, adding that he, "met Rush Limbaugh the other night in a restaurant in New York. And I was tempted, after all the terrible things he has said about me, to tell him that we're 99.9 percent the same. I was afraid the poor man would run weeping into the street, so I let it go."

The former president also said that in a few weeks he would be traveling to Africa to celebrate Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday. He said, "It's hard for me to believe that Nelson and I are 99.9 percent the same, because he is so much more than I could ever be."

He noted that if you same "Good Morning to someone in Africa, it translates to "I see you." An empowering phrase.

He said that in his travels he has found that around the globe intelligence and effort are equally distributed but that organization, investment and opportunity are not. He expressed optimism that the 21st century could have far less atrocities and tragedies than the 20th but only if we can "drive home the elemental requirement of community. Because our common humanity is more important than our differences and because you must see everyone."

"If you see everyone, if you believe that we are because others are, your grandchildren will be here 50 years from now. And it will be even better. Because you have fulfilled humanity's first obligation, to honor what is holy about it, and to pass it on."

Congratulations to Olivia Bailey, a philosophy and French double major from Londonderry, Vermont, valedictorian 2007.